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Only a small minority of dealers embed native video or original content into inventory experiences. Those that do consistently see meaningful increases in engagement time.
Time investment is the strongest predictor of purchase intent observed in the dataset.
Capital Allocation: Where Spend Still Goes and Why Returns Shrink
Original content increasingly behaves like infrastructure, not promotion, accruing value through reuse rather than expiring on spend.
Capital allocation decisions reveal more about a dealership’s strategy than stated priorities.
Across the dataset, a disproportionate share of marketing investment remains concentrated in legacy demand channels. These channels are familiar, measurable, and historically effective. They are also transactional and non-compounding.
Average Marketing Spend Allocation
- Boat Shows and Events: 38 percent
- Marketplaces and OEM Programs: 27 percent
- Paid Search and Display: 21 percent
- Owned Content and Infrastructure: 14 percent
Insight:
The majority of capital continues to fund rented demand, while owned demand infrastructure remains underfunded. This imbalance explains rising costs paired with declining leverage.
Owned demand assets increase in value over time. Rented demand expires the moment spending stops. The moment spend pauses, visibility collapses. This distinction is not philosophical. It is economic.